Letters: Jun. 30, 1997

(5 of 5)

So Drosnin says that the future can be foretold via patterns of words found in the Jewish Torah. Hmmm. Following an elaborate decoding system of my own creation, I have deduced that the letters in the name Michael Drosnin can be rearranged to spell out the mysterious phrase "Him conn'd Israel." Any message in that? ERIC BENDER Kirkland, Que.

ADVICE TO A SON

Roger Rosenblatt's "Speech for a High School Graduate" [ESSAY, June 9] is worth the price of a year's subscription! HOWARD F. HORNER Portland, Ore.

Not since I thrilled to the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson's "Self-Reliance" have I read a piece as eloquent and loving as Rosenblatt's advice to his son. In a society creaking under the weight of the almighty dollar as the ultimate symbol of "worthship," in which the emphasis lies on aggrandizing and glorifying the whole at the expense of individual self-realization and contentment, Rosenblatt's words were a healing balm of inspiration. His son may look back one day and realize, if he has not already, that his father possesses what is arguably the most noble of human traits: the courage of his own convictions. Would that every graduate could be so fortunate as to be given these fine words as a parting gift instead of a brand-new BMW. KIM CARLSON New York City

Is Roger Rosenblatt serious? College is the best four years of life. One does not spend them waking up at 6, staring at mountains and admiring sunsets. Rather, going to bed at 5 a.m., waking up at 12, rushing to classes and pulling off all-nighters sound more like it. SANJEEVI-DEEPU VRIDHACHALAM Valhalla, N.Y.